Frostbite
by snowconetiger
Summary: When Ivory ends up in the hands of SHIELD, she struggles with controlling her new found powers. With the help of Coulson, Steve, and Tony, she might be able to become a hero, not the burden SHIELD views her as. But something is going on in SHIELD. There is a new threat. Can Ivory stop this threat before lives are taken?
1. Chapter 1

**_Hey guys! So let me give you a little information about this fanfic. So most of the story will take place a little bit after the first Avengers movie. I know that's a while ago, but it'll make sense later._** ** _Also, it has a little bit of stuff and inspiration from the movie Frozen, but not any of the characters._** ** _This chapter may not be all that exciting, but I promise it's important for the story later on. The next chapter will be more exciting. Please don't forget to review and let me know how you like it or what I need to improve on. To grow in my writing I need feedback. And now..._**

The alarm went off. The beeping ringing in my ears caused me to groan. I slam my hand down on the snooze. It was too early to get up. It was Saturday, and no one deserved to get up at 5 am on a Saturday.

As I drift back to sleep, a shot of pain shoots down my neck. Nails dig into my throat. A hand that smells of stale beer covers my mouth, so the neighbors can't hear me scream. This is usually how I wake up. It's no big deal.

But today, something was off. I knew I was in for it. The beer smell was far too strong than usual. This meant Jeremy was mad at me and Carroll would be forcing me to do hard labor. It's just another wonderful morning with my foster parents.

Hands pulled me down the stairs, and then threw me on the kitchen floor. Typical. A hand lands quickly on my behind. I counted the times they landed to see why I got in trouble. Usually it would be five or six for not doing chores correctly, nine to ten for irresponsible behavior, and around twenty for disrespect.

But this morning, the hands stopped at two. This was not good. Two meant trouble. I was in for it all right, and there was no way I was going to be able to pull off their punishment this time.

"Stand up." A quiet voice said. It was Carroll, and when Carroll is quiet, you know something is definitely not going to be good. I stood up as quickly as I could, which meant another slap on the back from Jeremy. 3.

Carroll looked me straight in the eye. Yet another bad sign. What did I do? I was sure I cleaned the house, vacuumed, washed the windows, swept the walkway, and did the dishes up to their standards. I'm usually not this worried. But the fact that there is little dialogue between us this morning makes me start to sweat.

"Chair. Now." I obeyed as quickly as possible. The chair felt hard and cool against my sweaty back. Choppy sentences meant that a long punishment session was underway. I was ready.

Then Jeremy came and did his worst. There were slaps to the face, punches to the stomach, the whole shebang. My face turned numb, my arms bruised, but not a tear came down my face. Ten years with the Smiths and you learn that crying means more punching. It gets you nowhere fast.

Several bruises later, and Jeremy seemed to have cooled down. His muscled seemed to relax more, and his breathing slowed slightly. Now came the yelling. It's funny. He mutes my screams but doesn't care about his own affects on the neighbors' sleep.

"How could you do this to us?" He screamed. I was stunned.

"What did I do, sir?" I asked as politely as possible. I got a slap to the face. That was the wrong approach. I should have known better than to retaliate.

Then Carroll decided to chime in. "We are so ashamed in you! And to think, we adopted you because they said you were smart!" Now I'm just confused. I take a deep breath. My job is to learn my punishment and why.

"Please explain what I have done wrong. I don't know what you all are talking about." I said, with a sad sigh. They gave me a death glare. Why was I making all the wrong moves this morning?

"What you did," Jeremy snarled, "is get an 87 percent in MATH!" He flipped the table, our breakfast spilled onto the floor. Guess I won't be eating this morning. Carroll ran up to him, saying soothing words like, " It's okay dear, she'll be out of our hands soon." And, "don't forget the money we get from her. Let that make up for this."

I couldn't believe it. All of this because of a grade they have to share with the adoption center so they can see how they are helping me learn at school. An 87 is not going to get me out of here. I wish it would, but alas.

He turned back to me, a stern look on his face. Now it was time for the punishment. He scowled. I braced myself for what was to come.

"Because you almost RUINED our plan with you, you get to work a double shift at my job for me. We will drive you there, and you will walk home. I don't want to see you until the job is done. You understand?"

I stood up, and looked him in the eye, "Perfectly." He slammed me to the ground. Hard. The world spun. He screamed, "Don't you look me in the eye, young lady! Now go get dressed! I want you ready to go in ten minutes or you'll walk there yourself."

It's a 5 mile walk from here to the plant, so I hurry up the stairs. I quickly change, put my hair up, go to the bathroom, and get in the car. It takes them three hours to get ready, so I doze. It's a dreamless sleep.

As my foster parents get into the car yelling, "Ivory, get those cruddy shoes off the seat! Do you want to wash it when you get back?" we pull out of the driveway as Jeremy recklessly drives to his work. And to think, it's only 8 in the morning. How could this day get any worse?

I shouldn't have asked.

"I don't get why we have to drive her."

"You don't want her running away, dear."

"Still. She has legs. Ivory may be a troublemaker but she has the brains to know not to defy us"

I love it when they talk about me when I'm not around. The back of the car sure seems far enough for me not to hear. But seriously, I'm right here.

The car ride usually doesn't last long. Just ten minutes of Jeremy's reckless drunk driving and I'll end up at his job. It's a factory where they experiment frogs. My days there are usually spent freeing them. It's cruelty even if it's not a human.

My thoughts of how to free the frogs this time are interrupted by a scream. It was Carroll.

"What is the big de-" It was clear. We were passing over the bridge. It was a mile long, and a truck was coming right towards us. To be fair, we were far in its lane. I started screaming too.

Horns honked. Tires squealed. Jeremy slammed on the brakes. We spun out, stopping right before the edge. I could breath.

"Are you crazy?!" I screamed.

"Shut up! We didn't ask you for an opinion."

I looked out the car window. We were lucky. Our vehicles were the only ones on the bridge. This is a private bridge and no one usually goes on it unless they come to or from the plant. The lake we're over is actually private property. It was going to be used for dumping for the plant, but the government found out so now it's just an obstacle.

Jeremy and Carroll unbuckled. They started to head out of the car. Just before they left, Carroll turned to me.

"Don't get out of the car. We'll be back."

And with that they got out of the car, locked it, and walked over to the truck. I watched as the driver got out and they all walked to the plant. He was fired for sure.

I sat back and looked at the damage done. The truck had turned over, a gaping hole in its tank. A blue mixture poured into the lake below. Good thing the government wasn't here to see this.

Then something caught my eye. A support beam had broken. A long crack went up its metal spine. A break like that could make the bridge collapse. _It isn't too bad looking_ I thought to myself, trying to calm the nerves in my body. _It'll be okay_.

Several minutes passed. Suddenly, I felt a jolt. Immediately, I turned to the beam. The crack had gotten bigger. I watched as it split open, and fell into the lake below. There was another shake. This bridge was going down. And I was locked in a car.

I tried to unlock it, but the child safety was on, and there were bars preventing me from getting to the front doors. I felt like a hamster in a cage.

I searched the car for anything heavy. I was running out of time. The car was slowly rocking. Finally I saw it: a briefcase.

I picked it up and started slamming it on the glass. Slowly but surely, the glass cracked. Finally, with one final strong blow, it shattered. Quickly, I crawled out. Pain shot through my leg. It was being cut on the glass. But I didn't have time to worry about that. I needed to get out of here. And fast.

I got up and started running for the plant. I was in the middle of the bridge, so it shouldn't take that long. I might just make it.

A large shake sent me flying to the truck. I hit it with a large bang. Then, to my dismay, the truck started to rock. Another beam broke. There was no support. I was going down.

The bridged leaned, Jeremy's car coming straight toward me. I dodged just in time. It cascaded over the edge. I started falling. I was near the edge, so there was no escape. The truck came down, and I fell along with it. I took a deep breath, and plunged into ice cold water.

I surfaced. My body was shaking. _The water isn't usually_ this _cold_ , I thought. But I had worse problems than that. Pieces of the bridge were starting to fall. There was no time to waste. I needed to swim to shore.

Just as I started swimming, though, a folly of rock and concrete fell on me. They were pulling me down. I landed at the bottom of the lake. Struggling, I managed to free myself, and began to swim back to the surface.

My leg started feeling heavy. I looked down. I saw a blurry vision of my leg, covered in ice. It was the mixture. It freezes things. And, of course, water. _Swim faster_. Things were freezing all around me. The cold ice creeped up my legs and onto my hips. The weight of the ice was pulling me down. My lungs screamed for air. But, the surface was close. There was still a chance I could make it.

I lifted my hand to break the surface when-

I felt something cold and hard.

The lake was frozen over. Ice was now up to my chest. I couldn't breathe. The weight pulled me down, and I rested on the frozen bottom of the lake.

As my body froze over completely, along with the rest of the lake, all I could feel was the cold of the ice, and the slow beating of my heart. The world turned an icy black.

 ** _That's all for now. I hope you all enjoyed! The next chapter will come in a week or so. Next week is super busy for me so I apologize in advance for making you guys wait. Please don't forget to review! Happy reading and writing! :)_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Hey guys! I am so sorry this took so long to update. I gave a warning I would be late, but I was not expecting to be this late. My life was pretty busy the past few weeks and wasn't able to write as much as I wanted. I promise the next update will be faster._**

 ** _Thank you to all of you who followed and reviewed last time. I really appreciate it :)_**

 ** _Personally, I think this chapter is a little boring, but I thought the information given was really important. So hang in there! The next chapter gets exciting :)_**

 ** _So with that over with, I hope you all enjoy! Don't forget to review, so I know what you guys are thinking. I'm not a mind reader :P_**

 ** _Drumroll, please!_**

I awoke to a sharp pain down my neck, and my arm, and my leg. Wow, Jeremy must've done a number on me. Then I thought about it, and I remembered: I was at the bottom of a frozen lake.

I opened my eyes, fear rushing through my body, waking me up instantly. Then I take in my surroundings. I'm in a chair. Well, more like I'm tied to a chair. People in goggles and white lab coats mill around me. They're on high-tech devices, plugging in numbers. Pictures of me are hung around with notes on them. I look at them. I look blue, cold, frozen. Something isn't adding up. For instance, why I'm alive right now?

The people start to notice I'm up. They all stop what they're doing, and slowly everyone in the room is looking at me. Should I say something?

"Errrr, hi." I say, trying to act casual when clearly there is nothing casual about this moment what-so-ever.

I'm greeted with blank stares. Shoot, I messed up. That's when I notice. The room is covered in ice. Who does that? Then I realized something even weirder. I wasn't cold.

Okay, I was starting to freak out. I was tied to a chair being experimented on while the room is covered in ice but I'm not cold. Not your typical thing to wake up to. So, I started screaming.

I felt my hands get cold. I looked down. Ice was shooting out of my hands. It sprayed onto the wall, scientists barely dodging the piercing shards.

Well that's new.

This led to more of me screaming, more yelling scientists, and of course, more ice.

I had to calm down. This would just get worse if they had to tranquilize me or something. So, slowly, I started to breathe again, and put the fact that there was ice coming out of my hands aside in my head. I would deal with that later. Right now, I want information. Like where I am and how I got here.

The crazy ice shooting slowly ceased. My breathing steadied, my heart quit racing, and I was as relaxed as I could be in this situation. The scientists stared, I guess astonished at how fast I could calm down. I learned from many hard nights at the Smith's.

There was an awkward minute of silence. I was staring at them, they were staring at me. The room felt like it was slowly closing in around me. Then, a door opened, and a man stepped in.

He was wearing all black, with a long black jacket and black boots. An eye patch went over his left eye. He seemed strict, his face permanently placed into a frown. He started to walk around the room. His gaze looked over the scientists, and they turned back to their work. Then, he looked at me. His eye trained on mine. He took two steps in front of me, and stopped.

"Hello, miss Smith. I am director Nick Fury of SHIELD."

I stared at him. No one calls me Miss Smith. That's my foster parents' last name, not mine. And, how did he know my name?

"How do you know my name?" My voice started to shake as I asked. This place was still freaking me out, but I couldn't panic, not again.

He pulled a chair from one of the tables, and sat down facing me.

"We rescued you from the ice." He said, a bit forcefully. I don't think I was supposed to be asking questions. Or get answers. Nick Fury was hiding something.

But then I processed what he said, and the pictures around me. It hit me. I was frozen, and they saved me. A million questions swirled around in my head. I didn't know what to ask first. Then, a question started to stick out more than the others.

"How long was I in the ice?"Everyone in the room stopped moving. They turned to look at me. Nick Fury's face was shocked for a second, but then it was gone, like it never was there. He turned, and waved everyone back to work. The scientists turned to their computers.

Nick Fury thought about this question for a moment or two. He seemed to be thinking how to put it, so I wouldn't freak out. I assumed it was only a few hours, and then I would be here only to thaw out and be sent back home in a few hours. But, I still couldn't believe I was alive after being frozen. But that would be a question for later.

Finally, Fury came up with a suitable answer for himself.

"It was a long time"

That was it? I needed more than a five word answer.

"How long?"

"Let's just say, long enough for people to think you're dead."

Dead? The world thought I was dead? I started to panic. My hands started to get cold again. No, I couldn't do that again. I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. The cold receded. I swallowed.

"So, where do I go?" I asked shakily. I could care less that The Smiths thought I was dead, but that also meant so did the foster system. I couldn't just show up after who-knows-how-long and be like _"Hey, I'm Ivory. You know, the girl who you thought was dead but not really."_ SHIELD, whatever it was, seems smarter than to release me free into society, especially now that I have….powers.

That thought still brought chills up my spine. I still couldn't believe it.

My thoughts were interrupted by Fury.

"That's where I was headed to. Since you are technically dead to society, and, as you may have already noticed, some ice powers, you will be staying here, in our SHIELD base, with a guardian."

So I was being thrown into someone else's hands so they can deal with me and raise me in secret so the world doesn't freak out that someone who they thought was frozen in ice was actually alive now and she has dangerous ice powers. Sure, _that's normal_.

"Wait, I finally have to ask." I say, because I know I'm about to leave here soon, and may never see Director Fury again. "What's SHIELD?"

He sighed. "SHIELD is the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division."

I must have had a look of confusion on my face, because he said with a tone in his voice, "It's a secret government agency."

I guess I understood. A million questions were still floating around in my head. I felt like I was going to burst.

Nick Fury seemed like an impatient man. "Come on, now. I don't have the time to tell you everything. You'll learn more about SHIELD as time goes on." He was lying, I could tell. I asked too much. This place may be an agency of good guys, but even good guys lie. Fury wasn't telling me everything, and I was going to get to the bottom of things.

But I would have to wait on learning the truth. There were things far more important. Like, how I have ice powers that I can't control.

I had a few more questions before Fury left.

"So," I started with caution, "why is the room covered in ice?" It was strange. Ice covered everything. The walls, the computers, even a few chairs. "Was it to, I don't know, preserve me?" The words felt weird coming out of my mouth. I knew that answer couldn't be right. It didn't make sense.

Fury seemed unnervingly calm. He stood, and looked around. "That, Miss Smith, was not our doing."

Without saying another word, Fury left the room, without giving me a chance to reply. A guard started to untied me. The thick plastic left red marks on my hands and legs. Clearly this place had no sense of comfort. But, I've been through worse. Plus, I was more shocked by what Fury said. _I_ did this? While I was _asleep_?

"Come on." the guard said gruffly. I walked with him as we went down the hall. I was too busy processing my new life to notice my surroundings. I had ice powers. What was I capable of? It wasn't until we got to the elevator did I start to look around.

The elevator was activated by handprint recognition. I've never seen anything like it. The elevator itself was so high-tech too. The guard pushed a button, and we went sailing down. This technology is so advanced. How long was I in the ice? I wanted to know. SHIELD could keep secrets from me for all I care, but this was something I would get out of them.

I looked at the guard. A black helmet covered their face, and they wore a black, I assume bullet-proof vest. A gun was held in their hands, ready to aim whenever needed. I cringed. But, there was no one else to ask.

"So, how long was I in the ice?"

Silence.

This guy didn't want to talk. Or maybe wasn't allowed to. I tried again.

"Was it…" I thought about it for a second, trying to think of a reasonable time for being frozen. It's not easy. "A week?" I looked up. Still no answer.

"A month?"

The guard shifted their gun. The elevator door opened, and we continued through another hallway. Doors were on both sides. Each one had a hand print scanner. We were almost there, to the apartment. But I hadn't given up yet.

"Two months?" I was getting nervous. The time was stretching pretty far. It couldn't have been more than two months, right?

I swallowed. "A year?"

We stopped at a door. The guard turned to me. For the first time, he spoke.

"Let's just say it was much longer than a _year_."

Chills ran up my spine. The way he said year made me worried. _Longer than a_ year? But I had more pressing matters. I was about to meet my new foster parent.

The guard scanned his hand. A beeping sound came out of the machine, and the door slid open. I was nervous, and scared. Who was this guy going to be? My hands turned blue. Oh, no. I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. The blue went away. I breathed a sigh of relief. I could not go in meeting my foster parent like that.

As we stepped in the door, I saw how small these apartments were. We were underground, so it made sense. Right now we were in the kitchen. It was a small, square room. To my right there was a fridge towards the back, and a long table top with a toaster, and a stove. To my left was a hallway, most likely leading to bedrooms and a bathroom. And then, right in front of me, was a table. And, sitting at the table was my foster parent.

He stood upon our entry, and walked up to us. He was a shorter man, and wore a suit and tie. He was mostly bald, with brown, short hair towards the back. He stuck out his hand in greeting.

"Hello, miss Smith. I am agent Phil Coulson. I will be your guardian."

I shook his hand. "Please, just call me Ivory, mister Coulson."

"And you can call me Phil." He nodded to the guard. "You can go now." The guard turned and left, the door sliding closed behind him.

Coulson walked over to the table, and sat down. "Please, sit." He gestured towards the chair across from him. I sat down. He looked a little worried.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ivory, but I was called in for the late shift tonight and it's already 8:30, so we'll have to make this meeting short."

That threw me off guard a little. This wasn't just a meeting. It was first impressions. But, what can I expect from an agent. I tried to reply politely.

"Um, okay, Mister Coulson."

"Please, call me Phil. Anyways, I need to tell you that you are not allowed to leave this apartment without my permission. And, you are not permitted to use your powers in this apartment. Is that understood?"

I nodded. This was going swimmingly. I'm trapped in a small apartment without being able to use my powers. That word still made me shudder. It was so unreal.

"Well, I best be going."He got up, patted me on the shoulder, and headed towards the door. I looked over at him, a confused look on my face. That was it?

He turned. "Oh, I forgot. Bathroom is the first door on the left, your room is at the end of the hall." And with that, he was out the door. Some foster parent.

Dead silence echoed through the kitchen. What was I supposed to do? I looked around. There was a small box on the kitchen counter. I got up and looked at it. It read:

 _To: Ivory Smith_

 _From: Phil_ _J_

It must have been a present, but he forgot to give it to me. I sighed. At least he tried. I pulled off the ribbon and opened the box. First, there was a watch. It was so high-tech I almost didn't know what it was. I picked it up. Instead of a clock with hands, it read the time.

 _8:43_

Wow. It must have been way longer than a year. I put the watch on. It's glass cover reflecting the light. But there was something else in the box.

It was another box. But, this one was different. You couldn't open it, and there were buttons along the sides. The back had an apple on it. I felt so stupid. I had no idea what gadget this was. I set it down on the counter. I'll figure it out later.

I went down the hall, and turned to go into the bathroom. Turning on the faucet, I splashed water on my face, and then looked in the mirror at myself. What looked back at me made me gasp.

Usually my hair was a really dark brown, but now I could tell it was darker. It was black, with small streaks of blue and white in it. I didn't know if it looked cool, or I looked like a graying old lady. But it was my eyes that took my breath away.

My eyes are-were-hazel, but now they were ice blue. As I looked closer, I notice my irises had the shape of a snowflake in them. What caused this to happen? I tried to remember the instances before I went into the ice. It was a little fuzzy, and I couldn't recall anything different, but I'm sure there was.

All I could remember was the icy cold. The way the ice creeped up my leg. How my eyesight grew blurry and icy. My lungs burning for air as I sank to the cold bottom of the lake…

I put my hands on the sink to balance myself. Ice creeped up the sides of the sink, and I pulled my hand back. _I have to be more careful_ I told myself, as I walked out of the bathroom, staring at my reflection from the half-coated-in-ice mirror.

I cringed. I didn't know how to control the ice yet, and I was quite certain that no one in the world had these powers to teach me. I was on my own.

I walked to my room. It was all white, with lanterns hung on the ceiling. My bed had blue sheets and pillows. To the right was a dresser, most likely filled with clothes for me. There was a closet to the left, and a blue rug by the bed.

Not caring about changing into pajamas, I flopped onto the bed. It was soft and warm, unlike my bed at the Smiths. It was going on 9, about the time I went to bed, but I wasn't tired. Sleeping in ice for who-knows-how-long really makes you not tired.

I cried into my pillow. I don't usually cry much, but I was overwhelmed. So much had happened in the past few hours, and I didn't even know where to start. I was in a new place, a new home, with tons of new people that would always be around me. I had a new life.

Ice creeped along the walls, and snowflakes started swirling around the room as I bawled my eyes out. I would have to get used to my new life, and that started with crying, I guess.

As I calmed down, thousands of thoughts swirling around in my head, I stared up at the blank ceiling. Even with everything going on, slowly, I fell asleep, a million snowflakes drifting to the floor.

 _ **Ta Daaa! You made it to the end of the chapter! I hope you all enjoyed, and I promise the next chapter should be here shortly. Oh, and I want to keep the year Ivory was frozen a surprise, so you guys can be as surprised as she is when it's found out. Please don't forget to review. I want to know what you guys thought. As a writer I have to learn to improve. So keep those reviews up, and keep an eye out for the next chapter (Or, you could follow my story to get e-mails when I post a new chapter. It's easier that way :P )**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey everyone! I am so sorry this was far overdue for an update. I tried to get a chapter up sooner but then school started and I was swamped with hours of homework. But hopefully this won't be forever and I'll have more time to write.**_

 _ **Thank you to all of you who reviewed it is much appreciated.**_

 _ **There were a few questions from reviews I would like to answer.**_

 _ **1\. It will be revealed in this chapter, but this is taking place about a month after the first Avengers movie took place.**_

 _ **2\. I do not watch the show Agents of SHIELD. So, this story will be a little AU and won't include many details from the show. However, I may put a few things from the plot into my story, but it is not the main focus of my fanfiction.**_

 _ **Thanks again for your awesome support and keep those reviews up! As I have said before I want to know what other people think and how I can improve. Also if you guys have any questions you can let me know and I will answer them (unless it spoils, because no one wants a spoiler)**_

 _ **And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you all have been waiting for...**_

The sound of ringing filled my ears. My eyes opened, and all I saw was white. Sitting up, snowflakes fell of my face and onto my lap. I sighed, remembering the events from yesterday. But, fear also made my muscles tighten. The room was covered in a sheet of ice.

The beeping was still commencing. It was coming from my watch. It took me forever to figure out how to turn it off.

I got out of bed, my bare feet hitting the icy floor. But, again, I wasn't cold. There was no chill, or numbness. It was just like stepping on a wood floor. It was weird.

Slowly creeping along the floor, since I didn't want to slip, I made it to the door. The door, like everything else in the room, was frozen. It took me several minutes to pry it open.

To my luck, the rest of the apartment hadn't been frozen over. I breathed a sigh of relief. I walked to the bathroom, and did my morning routine. It felt good to go slow, without two people cursing at me to hurry up.

I still couldn't believe that my hair and eyes changed. I looked like a totally different person. Looking around the bathroom, I found a hairbrush, and began to brush my hair. I put in my classic braid, the only thing that made sense today.

I walked out to the kitchen, expecting to see Coulson, but was greeted with nothing. The only thing that had changed from last night was a note on the table. I went over to pick it up.

 _Ivory,_

 _Had to work this morning_

 _Should be back soon_

 _Help yourself to food_

 _-Phil_

I groaned. I had only talked to this guy once, and he was supposed to be taking care of me. What kind of parent is this guy? But, the more I thought about it, I realized this dude had work to do, and he should be home soon, anyways.

My stomach gurgling reminded me about food. I was starving. I guess I hadn't really eaten since over a year ago.

Opening the fridge and cabinets, I realized my food was very limited. There was bread, yogurt, 3 eggs, and a container of old chicken.

"This can't be everything." I said to myself, closing the fridge door. That's when I noticed the buttons.

Over the stove, there were three buttons. One labeled breakfast, the others lunch and dinner.

"Bingo"

I reached out and pressed the breakfast button. Suddenly, things started working all around me. Robotic hands came out of the walls, reaching for eggs. Another started making toast, while others put sausage in a pan. Where did the sausage come from? Pancake mix came out of the wall, and into a bowl another hand had started mixing. This was so high tech. I stepped back, pressing my hands against the wall. That was a bad idea.

Ice started to spread across the wall. I drew my hand back, just in time. That could have been a disaster. I went and sat down at the table, clasping my hands together so I didn't make another escape.

The wall was covered in ice. There was no way I could fix that. I cringed, thinking of how Coulson would react. He said no powers, and I disobeyed. But I didn't _mean_ to. I feared the punishment that was to come.

My thoughts were interrupted by a plate being set before me. Looks like the little hands had finished. This meal was huge. It consisted of bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, toast, and a bowl of oatmeal, all steaming hot.

After saying grace, I dived in. But, as soon as I took a bite of eggs, I spit them out. My tongue burned. _These eggs must be really hot._ I thought to myself. But it was strange. Usually I could eat anything right after it comes out from the oven, or right off the stove. This had to do with being frozen, I was sure of it.

It took several minutes for it to cool enough for me to eat it. Not to sound like a pig, but I ate it all. I was starving.

After a rather odd breakfast, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't really go anywhere, if you know what I mean. Then I thought about what I would do on a normal day. Usually I would be at school. I guess since I'm "dead" that won't really happen. The thought made me shudder.

I was dead to the world. It was a strange thought. I'm sure this has been the thought of someone else in some point in time. Maybe someone faked their death or something. The thought was crazy, but it made me feel like my life would be more normal.

You know, as normal as you can get with ice powers.

I quickly changed my train of thought to school. I guess school didn't really matter here. Besides, I was going to graduate early from school. I already had all the requirements, so I was going to go to college sooner. It would be to escape the Smiths.

But now I can't do that, and I don't need to.

The day went on slowly. I did nothing. I paced the floors, and ate lunch. Then paced, and ate dinner, and went to bed. Yet, there was no Coulson.

I didn't see him for another week.

After four days of doing absolutely nothing important, I decided to go exploring. There was really only one room to explore, so it should be pretty easy. Plus, there was no one to tell me otherwise.

I ate breakfast like always. Then, I went to the door. Cautiously, I turned the doorknob. I closed my eyes, breathing deeply. That's how I learned to control my powers, for now. I was nervous. Slowly, I opened the door. My eyes open for what could be inside.

It was a bedroom.

I should have expected that. What else would it be? I walked in, and looked around.

 _This must be Coulson's room_ I thought to myself. The room was small, and had a bed, nightstand and a few shelves. It looked totally normal. Except…

Nothing was in it.

There were no clothes in any of the drawers. No knick knacks on the shelves, nothing. It doesn't seem normal for someone to live here and not have anything here. There was only one practical answer:

Coulson didn't live here.

It was a setup. Coulson _really_ didn't live here. That explained why he was never around.

I was mad. I was lied to.

"Really?" I huffed, and sat on the bed. It was immediately covered in ice, but I didn't care

The more I thought about it, the less mad I got. I was dangerous. If Coulson did stay in this room, he could have frozen to death. But still, the sting of being lied to still hurt.

My eyes traveled over the room. That's when I noticed the one book. It was lying on its side, and it was thin. I picked it up and flipped through the pages. They were blank.

"What kind of person leaves a blank book in an empty room?" I mumbled to myself, perplexed. I laid the book down on the bed, but it fell off.

Reaching down to grab it, I noticed a rectangular gap on the wall. It was so close to the floor, I hadn't noticed it. I put two and two together.

Grabbing the book, I carefully slid it into place. I heard a click, and right in front of my eyes, the wall changed. A gap appeared, a long hallway coming from it.

"Yes!" I whispered, and cautiously tread down the hallway.

I didn't know what I was expecting; A secret lair, an office, something cool. But this was not what I was hoping for.

It was another bedroom.

This time though, there were clothes and stuff.

There was a dresser stuffed with clothes, a closet full of suits, and a bed that was not made. I was sure that this was Coulson's real room. There was one thing, though, that confused me.

The room was covered in posters and cards and frames, all consisting of the same person. It was a superhero comic person of some sort. They wore red, white and blue, and carried a shield. He was called Captain America.

I laughed. A grown man who obsessed over a comic book character was chosen to be my guardian.

Something in the back of my mind made me thinking. I have seen this _Captain America_ before. Something told me he wasn't just a comic book character. Then I remembered something from history class.

He was a war hero. I couldn't remember all the details, but he was real.

I would have to continue on that later; there were more important things to do. I started looking around the room for anything. It was useless. All I found was more trading cards.

I decided to open the door connected to the bedroom. I was greeted by a messy kitchen. There was nothing there, either. Only two more doors left. One was a bathroom. The other, to my luck, was an office.

Filing cabinets filled the room, making me claustrophobic. But these cabinets could hold answers.

I opened one, surprised that they weren't locked, and saw tons of files. I went through them, tons of names I never heard of flipping through. Then, I came upon a familiar one. I picked it up, and began to read.

 _Phillip J. "Cheese" Coulson_

"Cheese?" I read on.

 _Born: July 8_ _th_ _1964_

 _Died: May 4_ _th_ _2012_

 _Resurrected May 17_ _th_ _2012_

 _See TAHITI file (#098364921)_

 _Agent Phil Coulson was an agent of SHIELD since age 27. He served on many high-class missions, including those of Iron man (#12765), Thor (#37689, also see item 47) as well as many minor missions. When Loki (#1265937) attacked New York in 2012(#84736), Agent Coulson was killed in action. Later Director Fury (#16453) used project TAHITI to revive him. All memory of Agent Coulson's death was erased from his mind to keep his sanity. Agent Coulson now goes on missions regarding unsolved cases within SHIELD._

 _Update: June 24_ _th_ _, 2012 Agent Coulson became the legal guardian of Ivory Smith (#124763987)_

I couldn't breathe. I sat on the chair, Ice beginning to cover the room. Half of that file was a blur. All I could tell was this was 2012. When I went under, it was 1985.

I had been in the ice for 27 years.

I dropped the paper. I couldn't believe it. No wonder everything was so different, the high-tech stuff, people's mannerisms…

It took me a few minutes to catch my breath. I understood why they were keeping this from me: It was a lot to take in. Ice powers _and_ being in a new century? It would have been way too much all at once. It still is, now. I needed to talk to Coulson. He would give me answers.

While I waited for him to come home, I processed things. Besides the fact that the file said I was in the ice for 29 years, a few other thing sounded odd.

Coulson had a death date. He _died_. Did he even know? The file said he didn't, but what does a file know. I needed answers from the man himself.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Coulson came through the door. He was carrying a briefcase, which quickly dropped out of his hand by the sight of my presence.

I pointed to the chair. "Please, sit." He obeyed, a slight amount of caution in his steps.

"We need to talk."

The way his hands were clasped together made him seem calm, but I could see in his eyes he was a little frightened. But suddenly, his demeanor changed and he looked totally calm, as if his fear wasn't even there.

"How did you get in here?"

I held up the book, and slid it across the table. He picked it up, flipped through the pages, and set it down.

"You're smart."

I crossed my arms.

"You lied to me."

He sighed, and leaned back in his chair.

"I didn't want to. Fury thought you were too dangerous to be around. I'm sorry."

His apology almost made me drop my guard. But I wasn't done yet. I did uncross my arms, though, remembering the fear in his eyes.

I sighed, putting my hands on the table, and then looked him straight in the eyes. "I want answers."

He looked back at me. "I can't tell you everything."

"I deserve to know!" I barely yelled, standing up. Ice shot out of my hand, stabbing the wall.

I cringed, sitting down. Coulson's face showed no emotion. I could only see a slight hint of humor in his eyes.

I composed myself, and clasped my hands together in my lap. "That wasn't funny."

"It was actually."

I glared. He quickly changed the subject.

"Back to what you were saying, I can't tell you everything. It's classified information to level 7 agents only."

"But it's about me." I protested, my voice cracking as I spoke. Clearing my throat, I carried on. "Look, I'll stop bugging you if you tell me something. I don't know where I am, who you people are, and I certainly don't know how I got these powers." I took a deep breath. "I just want to ask a few simple questions."

Coulson looked at me for a moment. He seemed impressed. He leaned back in his chair, his leg propping up the seat so it reclined back. "Well, where should we start?"

I smiled. I was finally going to get the answers I wanted.

 _ **The end. No I'm just kidding there is more to come soon. Please don't forget to review so I know what you guys think! Also, could you guys let me know if you think that I'm making Coulson a little OOC. I'm having trouble writing his character so I want to know what you guys think. Thanks again for all of the support and I'll try really hard to get chapter 4 up soon! Happy reading :)**_


	4. Chapter 4- Answers

_**Hey everyone. Oh my goodness I am super sorry I have not updated in 3 whole months! Where has time gone! Anyways I have just been super busy and I'm really super sorry I have not updated and I promise I will try my hardest to update soon. No more 3 month waits :)**_

 _ **But I wanted to thank everyone who have followed my story and post reviews because it means a lot to me and inspires me to keep on working hard.**_

 _ **Oh and in this chapter towards the end it goes into third person for a little bit but I let you know so don't freak out its just third person. :p**_

 _ **Sooooo without anymore of me blabbing let's get to the chapter!**_

"Well?"

Coulson interrupted my thoughts. I was pondering what to ask first. I had a million questions that were racing through my mind. Some I anticipated the answer, while others I feared. My hands began to glow, and ice creeped up my arm. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. The ice subsided. That made me come up with my first question.

"Let's start with the basics, I guess." That sounded too clueless. I needed to sound like I was confident in what I wanted, not a little girl asking why her hands are turning blue.

"How did I get my powers?"

He straitened himself in his chair, and leaned towards me. I could tell he was confused.

"They didn't tell you?"

"No."

"And you don't remember?"

I thought about it. All I remember was the feeling of cold, and drowning, the way my heart slowly stopped beating…

Ice coated the table in an instant. I shot my hands back in surprise. The ice came out of nowhere. I guess I was scared.

"Not really, no."

Coulson's attention shifted from staring at the table to me.

"What do you remember?"

The flashback of me drowning came to view again. I shook my head, trying to get it out.

"Just drowning, nothing before that."

He sighed. "What's the thing you remember before that?"

I tried to focus on what had happened before. I remember that morning, the beating, my punishment, the car ride, and then, drowning.

"I was on a bridge."

Coulson seemed pleased. "Good. We have a place to begin."

This was it. This was the moment that I had been hoping for for days. A mixture of feelings from excitement to fear filled me. I waited intently for him to begin.

"Now, I can't tell you the whole story, not yet that is. But, I can tell you most of it. First though, I need a few answers from you."

"I told you, I don't remember what happened."

"But you will."

He got up from his chair and walked over to the file cabinet. Thumbing through the pages, he pulled out an envelope. Walking back, he began to speak.

"You know, for snooping around in my filing cabinet, I would have expected you to look for your own."

I was taken off guard. "You knew?"

"Yes, I suppose I did."

He didn't tell anyone, or send anyone to stop me. "Why didn't you-"

But he had already moved on. He picked up a paper and handed it to me. I read it, and what I read made me shudder.

 _Ivory Smith (#124763987)_

 _Born: August 14 1969_

 _Legal guardian: Agent Phillip Coulson_

 _Ivory Smith was found in the waters of the Smith and Waterbury Plant on April 17_ _th_ _2012\. She was later excavated and her identity was determined. Due to the (#379307195) she possesses powers of ice that are to be determined what they do._

I took a few deep breaths to calm down. "I'm 42 years old."

"Sort of." Coulson said calmingly. "You have been in ice for 27 of those. That time doesn't really count. You're still 16. I wish that could happen to me…"

Ice began to creep up the chair. I stood, starting to pace, breathing, taking it all in.

I sat back down a few minutes later. I wasn't going to freak out. The fact I have Ice powers is much worse than being 42 but 16. Plus, I needed to be cool (no pun intended). If I freak out I'll look like I can't handle it. That's not what I want.

I read over the file again. "What's this long number?"

Coulson hadn't said a word since I started to panic. He let me calm down, and I appreciated that. Now, though, he was ready to answer my questions.

"It's the name of the substance in your body."

I must have looked confused, because he sighed and began to explain.

"When the bridge you were on collapsed, it had a truck on it, full of a chemical called bifrostinium."

"What."

"The chemical is named after a now extinct race called the frost giants. It contains part of the stuff from the casket of ancient winters."

"Huh."

"What I mean to say is, it is a substance that when in contact with anything, it freezes it. For example, the water you fell into."

This was making a little bit of sense. I started to remember the car ride, the running- before the bridge collapsed under me…

But something didn't add up.

"If the bifrost- whatever freezes everything, than how am I not," the words could hardly escape me. "Dead?"

"That's where it gets a little confusing. Normally, it would have killed you. But," He pointed to my leg. "You had an open wound."

I looked down to where he was pointing. A long, jagged scar ran up my calf, up until it was hidden by my capris. I remembered now. The car accident, with Jeremy and Carroll leaving me in the car, I broke the glass, but I still got scratched. I don't remember being in pain, I must have been too scared.

But as I looked closely at the scar, it had a blue color to it, not your normal run-of-the-mill scar. That must be the Bifrost stuff. I rubbed over it with my hand.

"How much is in me?"

"Enough to freeze a lake." Coulson said, repositioning himself in his seat. I looked up. He put up his hands. "Honest, I have no idea. But I will say, it's permanent. If it was a little bit it would go away. But the amount inside you, and the fact that it's been there for many years, it's not going away. You can count on that."

I wasn't surprised. It made sense anyways. I guess he was thinking I would be upset, but I wasn't really. I mean, I may have troubles eating pizza and hot chocolate, but the potential made up for it. I could do something amazing with this power. You know, if I could control it. That reminded me of another question.

"Do you know if I'll be able to control it?"

He sighed. "Well, I'm no ice master, but it seems to be controlled by your emotions, mainly. I think if you use it and practice controlling it, you should come around. But, uh." He leaned in a little closer. "Fury doesn't want you using your powers."

"What!" A blast of ice flew out of my hand, and into Coulson's room.

He gasped, and ran into his room. He was in there for several minutes. I walked up to his doorway and peeked in to see what's up. He was mumbling to himself. Something about vintage and blood and 2 more left, I don't know.

"Sorry." I said as apologetically as possible. He looked up, put his things away, and went out the door, leaving me standing by the doorway. He turned back to me.

"Next time you shoot ice like that, make sure you aim away from the collectable vintage stuff."

"Sorry"

We went back to the table, now covered in ice. I cringed. This was not how I wanted this to go. I wanted to prove I could be more than a burden who takes up the room. So far, the only message I was conveying was that I could make a mess.

"Now, where were we?" Coulson asked, eyeing me closely.

"We were on the subject of I can't use my powers."

"Oh yes, that. Well… I can't really change his mind, if that's what you're asking."

"But Coulson I have to do something!" I stood up and faced him. "Okay, one, it's cruel to keep someone locked up and secluded like that. Do you know how lonely I feel? My foster parents may have been mean but this is too far. And another thing, I'm not a burden! You lock me up and put me away so you don't have to deal with me but if you just put the time in and let me do something I could do something to help. I could fight bad guys or whatever this organization does. And don't think I'm saying this because I want to be a, a, a hero or anything like that, I mean it would be cool, but I know there are people in this world who need saving and I could be the one to save them. I can do something!"

Ice was crawling up the walls. Coulson just stared at me. I realized I had just had a huge outburst and, embarrassed, I sat down.

"Sorry, I, uh, sorry." I looked at the floor, now covered in ice. I blew it. There is no way in this place I am going to be more than a freak.

"So, you want to be a hero?"

That was what he asks first? Out of all the things _that_ is what he asks?

"Well, I know what it's like, to be helpless, to be in need." I said calmly. "I just, I mean, I don't want others to be in danger, or to feel that way, so I guess so."

 _Are we seriously debating the impossible?_ I thought to myself. Director Fury said no, and I guess his word goes.

"Huh." Coulson said. "Well, you said you wanted to help people, so I'll give you a chance."

"Really?!" I could hardly contain my joy. I would finally get to control my powers!

"You'll start working tomorrow in the paper office."

"What." The joy was gone.

"A _paper_ office."

"Look." Coulson leaned in close. "I know it's not fun, trust me I've spent time there myself, but for Fury or anyone else here to trust you, you need to earn their trust. That starts with giving you something small, and you get to work up the ranks. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, or fun, but its how it's going to be."

It made sense. I would have to work hard to earn trust, and do something in this place, but it'll be worth it. But…

"How is a paper office job going to help me control my powers? I could freeze the whole place down if I see a spider!"

"Don't worry about that. I'll work something out. So you'll take the job."

"Yes!" I said a bit too quickly, and too excited. Coulson chuckled. "Stop it. I'm excited to get out of my room for once."

"Well if the over- excited ice girl wants to make a good first impression she better get back to her room and go to bed."

"Seriously?"

"Well, I am supposed to be your dad."

I crossed my arms and stuck out my tongue. He chuckled. "Get outta here."

"Alright." I turned to go. Then I remembered one last question.

"Hey Coulson?"

"Yes?"

"Have you ever read your file before?"

"No. I haven't even read through half those files in there." He gestured towards the filing cabinet. "Why?"

 _All memory of Agent Coulson's death was erased from his mind to keep his sanity._

The words of the paper in my pocket went through my head. He can't know, or he'll go insane, right?

The look on my face must have given it away. "Oh, you saw that I died?"

He knows. Was he insane? Was he okay? I nodded.

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Fury told me everything, and I'm not insane, okay? It was just a precaution. Others that went through that tough experience," He breathed sharply. "But I'm okay, promise."

I believed him. There was not a reason not to. He seemed okay, and he acted normal, and so far he's been trustworthy.

"Okay. Oh, and thank you, for giving me a chance."

"You deserve it."

I smiled, and walked to my room, ready for tomorrow.

 **3** **rd** **person POV**

Coulson walked into the office. He quietly closed the door behind him and turned on the light. He was stopped short. He saw a man at his desk, a bald man with an eye patch.

"You know, usually I like announcements when I have a meeting." Coulson said.

"It couldn't wait."

Coulson pulled up a chair and sat by the desk

"What is it, Director?"

"I want to make sure you know what you are dealing with. Ivory hasn't been tested-"

"She's fine, and you know that. If Ivory was mentally unstable or abusive with her powers we would have seen by now. I know her past was difficult, but we know she made it through. She never hurt herself or others intentionally then and she won't now. Plus, I've seen the footage from these past few days and she's fine." Coulson replied sternly.

Fury's face was unreadable. "I know she's fine, I just don't want you to get attached. You're the only thing keeping her from being contained in a facility. If you move to a different project-"

"She doesn't deserve that, Director. She also does not deserve to be left alone in a room all her life. And I am not leaving this project, for me and for her. This will be good for her, you'll see."

"I hope to." Fury stood up, as did Coulson. He handed him a box.

"For her powers. If she is going to work in _my_ offices I don't want an ice mess to clean up."

"Thank you, sir. She won't let you down."

Fury looked over his shoulder. "She better not." And with that, he left the office.

 _ **That's it for now guys. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please don't forget to review because I want to know what you think and how I'm doing with my writing. I promise it will not offend me at all if you use constructive criticism because I want to get better and that's how I will. Don't worry guys you will not have to wait 3 months for another chapter I am gonna try to get 2 more in before next year! But anyways thank you for reading!**_


	5. Chapter 5- A New Dawn

**_Hey guys! I did it! I told you I would try to update more recently and I did. Not to pat myself on the back but *pat pat*_**

 ** _Thank you to the people who have read and posted reviews in the past it means a lot to hear your feedback._**

 ** _But anyways yeah so I hope you guys enjoy and so yeah :p_**

 ** _And noooowwwwww..._**

* * *

I woke with a start, the excitement of the day filling me with energy. However, when I looked at the clock, it read 8:15. _I was supposed to be there at 8:30!_

I raced through my morning routine, putting on the nearest shirt and pants I could find. I braided my hair hastily, and a few strand of blue hung out, but I didn't care. I ran out into the kitchen, and as I hit the breakfast button I noticed a box on the table.

It was blue and sparkly, with a plain blue bow around it. There was an envelope next to it. My name was written on it in the neatest handwriting I had ever seen. I ripped it open and read the note inside

 _Ivory,_

 _For your first day of work (And under Fury's orders)_

 _The contents of this package will help you to control your powers when at your job_

 _Please wear them, or you won't be able to do your job._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Phil_

"Huh." Curious, I opened the package, neatly untying the bow. It was a pair of gloves, the same color blue as the bow. They looked like ordinary gloves to me, but I knew they weren't. I slipped them on, but nothing seemed to be happening. I shrugged, and sat down to hastily eat my cereal. I looked at the clock.

 _8:25_

"Ahh!"

I raced out the door, heading down the long hallway. I stopped and looked back. I left the directions on the table. Groaning, I decided to continue down the hall. I didn't have time to go back. I ran until I saw the elevator, and slammed my hand on the button.

"Come on, come on!" I mumbled to myself. To my relief, the door finally opened. I stepped in, and turned to the buttons. To my surprise, there was a whole wall of buttons. I hadn't noticed the last time I was in here. I was running out of options, so I just pressed a button at random. _Floor three seems right._ I thought to myself. The elevator went sailing upward, making me fall to the floor.

"Ow!" I groaned. It was weird I was going up, but then as I looked at the meter it read I was on floor -12. So I've been living underground and didn't know it? It made sense; this is a secret agency, after all.

The elevator continued to rise, as well as my nerves. Why didn't I go get the directions? I guess I wasn't expecting this place to be so big, or without labels. I sighed. It was my first day on the job and I was going to be late and lost.

The elevator doors opened, and I raced out. Little did I know that there was a mob of people outside of it.

"Ahh!"

"Watch it!"

"Sorry!" I called out, stepping on people's feet. I turned back to apologize to yet another scowling person when I ran smack into someone in front of me. Papers flew everywhere, and I tripped and fell.

I felt something in my gloves move. That's when I realized: The gloves blocked my powers from going outside the glove. So instead of teaching me to control my powers, they just conceal it. Nice.

But, I had bigger problems to worry about.

"Sorry!" I said, and began to pick up the papers as I stood. "I didn't mean to-"

"Oh, that's okay!" The woman I had run into began to pick up the papers as well. "I should have watched out where I was going!" She stood up straight, and to my surprise she was not a woman, but a teenager. She looked a couple years older than me, with her fiery red hair tied up in a ponytail. Her eyes seemed huge with her giant glasses on, and she wore an orange jacket.

I handed her the papers, and she out them back into her folder. "Are you okay?" She asked, still messing with the papers.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine!" I said a bit too loud. I was just stressed. Not only am I late to work but now people were staring.

She looked up at me. "No you're not." She said accusingly.

I sighed, giving in. "Okay, I'm not fine. Not only am I late to my first day in the job but I don't even know where I'm going."

"And where are you supposed to be?"

"The paper office."

She chuckled. "Well if I was going to the paper office I would want to get lost to. Come on, I'll show you the way." She walked over to the elevator and pressed the button. I followed, the eyes of SHEILD agents still training on me. I cringed.

"Thank you." I said as politely and normally as I could under the eyes of so many people. The door opened and we both went in.

"No problem." She said matter-of-factly as the doors closed. She hit a button.

"For future reference, the paper office is on floor negative 4."

"Oh." I felt so stupid.

"So," She turned to face me, "I haven't seen you before."

I gulped. "Well, I'm new here." I said quietly.

"Oh you don't have to be nervous I was just trying to start a conversation. And sorry about that whole scene back there I just was trying to act professional."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah" She leaned against the elevator wall. "My boss said I'm not that professional and I wanted to prove him wrong."

I relaxed a little bit. I wasn't in as deep trouble as I thought. "Well, thanks for helping me."

She smiled. "Anytime! Plus," she whispered, "I can be late to work with an excuse this time."

I laughed.

The elevator doors opened, and she led me down a hallway to a door.

"There you are."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Oh, by the way, I'm Amber."

"Ivory."

"Well, see you around Ivory!"

"Yeah, see ya." She walked away. It was good to know someone my age worked here. Plus, maybe she'll be able to help me out later. But, I had more pressing matters to think about. It was already 8:45. I groaned. Unlike Amber, I was not getting off the hook on this one.

I had to take off my glove to use the hand scanner outside the door. Gingerly, I took off my glove and put my hand on the scanner. A green light went on on top of the door, and it opened. I quickly put my glove back on and stepped through the door.

The room was huge, with tall, rounded ceiling. The room was long and wide, with rows upon rows of cubicles, each with the SHEILD symbol on it. I looked around to see if there was anyone to ask where I should go, but all I found was another handprint scanner. Cautiously, I took off my glove and scanned my hand.

 _Please go to your station Ivory Smith._ The robotic female voice from the speaker made me shiver. I still wasn't used to this new technology. A slip of paper came out from the scanner. I read it.

 _B147_

Following the numbers, I came across to my cubicle. Lying on the desk were stacks of papers and a stapler. I groaned. This was not what I wanted to do, but it was my chance to do something. So, I sat down and began to staple.

Minutes became hours, and time went on in complete silence except for the clicks of staplers all around me. This was the most boring thing I had ever done. The paper seemed to be without end, and every time I looked back at the piles they seemed to never shrink. Plus, it was hard to staple with gloves on. Twice, I had dropped it, staples spilling everywhere. The careful eyes of fellow SHEILD workers made me want to shrink and disappear as I scooped up the staples and fumbled to put them back into the stapler.

But, finally, the lunch bell rang. It wasn't much of a bell, more like a three tone ding, and the ceiling was projected with the words "Lunch Break" and a thirty minute count down. I followed the mob of people to the cafeteria and got something to eat.

I sat down at a table and began to bite into the apple I chose when someone sat in front of me with a smelly tuna sandwich. I looked up to see it was Amber.

"Hey!" She said cheerfully.

"Hi" I mumbled back, still chewing on my apple. She giggled, and I swallowed.

"What did your boss think of your excuse?" I asked.

"Oh, you know 'Helping agents does well to the system'." She mimicked him in a funny voice. We both laughed. She bit into her sandwich and I noticed it was burnt.

"Hey, what happened to your sandwich?" I asked. She looked at it curiously and shrugged. "I don't know, probably one of the robotic arms got it too close to the fire. I don't care, though." To prove so, she took a huge bite.

"So how was your first day so far?" She asked through her sandwich.

I sighed. "Well, at least it's something. Better than doing nothing, right?"

"No way! I would rather do nothing than that." She shook her head. "But hey, if you want to do something that's close to nothing, work in the paper office and be bored to death." We laughed.

"Yeah well I still take it over nothing." I concluded, finishing off my sandwich, and just in time. As I looked around, people had begun returning to work, and as I looked at the timer it read 5 minutes.

"Well, I better get back to being bored to death." I teased, and stood to throw my trash away.

"Yeah," Amber stood up as well, "I got to get back to mister 'Do it for the good of the people'."

I laughed. "Later, Amber."

"Bye, Ivory!" She turned and left in the opposite direction.

I went back to another 5 hours of stapling papers. It was the worst, and I could not imagine myself doing this every day. Time seemed to stand still, and I almost fell asleep twice. But, after grueling hours, the day was over.

It took me a while to get back to my room. I made four wrong turns and three wrong elevator stops. But, finally, I scanned my hand and opened the door. To my surprise, Coulson was at the table, drinking tea.

"Hello Ivory."

"Hello Mr. Coulson. What are you doing here?"

"I thought it would be nice for me to repay the favor."

I rolled my eyes.

"But, in all seriousness, I just wanted to see how your first day went."

"You wanna know the truth? It was the most boring day in my entire life!" I felt the gloves move again, and I knew that if they hadn't been on I would've made a huge ice mess.

"I'm sorry Ivory, but for now this is gonna be what it has to be."

"But Coulson don't you see I can do so much more if you just let me control learn to control my powers I could-"

"Ivory the director won't let me."

"But that's stupid! You're taking away my freedom, Coulson, and that's not right."

He smiled. "Steve would love you."

I sighed. "But that's just it I'll never meet this _Steve_ if I just sit in the office and do nothing!"

Coulson stood to face me. "This is the job you are going to get. Do you realize how much work I've put into you actually getting a job? How many pleas I had to make for you to actually step out of your room unsupervised? No you don't. Because you don't belong here, and you never will! So stop complaining, and be grateful you're even alive! "

I was taken aback. Even though Coulson's voice had hardly gotten louder than his normal speaking tone, his words had shaken me to the core. It was true that I didn't know all the work he had done, but I belong here _now_. I have powers now and I had to be watched to keep others safe. I felt like such a burden for Coulson and SHEILD.

Coulson must have seen how I felt. "Oh, Ivory, I didn't mean-"

"Stop." I turned, and went towards my room. Coulson reached out and grabbed my arm

"But Ivory you do belong. I'm sorry."

I turned back; he looked up at me, a look of regret on his face.

"Okay," I pulled my arm out from his grasp. "But just leave me alone."

"Ivory-"

"I _said_ just leave me ALONE!" I felt the gloves move again. I looked down, embarrassed.

"I guess I am a burden."

I went to my room, with Coulson calling for me from behind. I quickly locked the door behind me.

I collapsed onto my bed, tears streaming down my face. He didn't mean it, but the words still came out. I ripped the gloves of and threw them on the floor. Almost instantly ice started to creep up the wall, and a flurry of snow began to swirl around the room, dusting the furniture with white. My tears froze to my face.

Quickly, I sifted through the snow to find the gloves and put them on. The snow flurries stopped, but the storm inside still remained. I crawled back onto the bed, now covered in snow.

I know Coulson didn't mean it, but could it be true? Was I really a burden? I huddled myself under a flurry of snow, and I slowly cried myself to sleep.

* * *

 ** _I'm so sorry I left you all on a huge cliffhanger but yeah that's what happened :p_**

 ** _Please don't forget to follow/favorite/ or review! Reviewing really helps me as a writer to know how I'm doing and I promise I won't be offended at all if you use constructive criticism. It helps me to improve as a writer and I really appreciate the feedback._**

 ** _So yeah thanks again for reading and I'll try to update as soon as possible :)_**


	6. Chapter 6- Patriot

**_Hey everyone! Oh my goodness I am so sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been writing this chapter for a while but I just wasn't liking it so I kept redoing parts. But I fixed those small kinks I didn't like out and I love this chapter! Plus my computer stinks and it keeps dying and I lose all of my progress.(insert sigh here) But on a better note thanks for all of you who have been patient my computer still isn't 100% yet but I have a good plan for the next chapter so fingers crossed I get it written soon. And thank you to all of you guys who post reviews and have followed this fanfic it means a lot. So anyways I am super happy with this chapter and i hope you guys are too so enjoy!_**

* * *

I woke up drowsily. My eyes felt puffy and my hair was in knots. A streak of blue hair was in my mouth. Disgusted, I pulled it out.

I sat up; a flurry of snow fell from my bed to the floor. Icicles hung from the ceiling, just inches away from my head. I cringed, and slowly slid of my bed to the floor, where I crawled to the door and opened it.

A fresh smell of berries hit my nose, and I was confused. I hadn't made a smoothie the night before, and I'm pretty sure that they didn't just waltz into my home to join me for breakfast. Perplexed, I crawled to the door and walked into the kitchen.

Sitting at the table was Coulson, sipping a mug of coffee with Captain America on it giving a thumbs up. _He's such a fanboy_ I thought to myself. But then I got to the thought of why he was still here.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up." He said, taking a sip of his coffee. "Maybe I should've come for lunch instead." He joked, looking at my disheveled appearance.

"Hey I'm not the one who invaded my kitchen. What are you doing here?" I was still mad about last night.

He stood to face me. "I came to apologize. Look, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking when I said that. You do belong here and you're not a burden. I don't want you to feel that way because you're not." He rested his hand on my shoulder. "You're my daughter."

I looked up at him, and saw that tears were welling up in his eyes. He meant it, and I could tell. I reached my hand up to his.

"I forgive you." I still felt a little bit like a burden, but the pain of being unwanted went away. I felt, for the first time in forever, like someone would be there for me. I may still not totally belong to everyone here, but at least in someone's mind I did.

Coulson smiled warmly, and pulled me in for a hug. This was unexpected, and I tensed in his grasp. No one had really hugged me before, and it felt weird.

Noticing my reflex Coulson pulled back. "Sorry I, uh, didn't mean to be-"

"Oh no it's okay I-" We stood in silence.

After several long seconds Coulson cleared his throat.

"So, um, should we eat?"

I nodded, grateful to put that behind us. I sat in a chair, a smoothie in front of it on the table. I began to drink it, grateful Coulson thought about my sensitivity to heat. He began to eat the eggs on his plate.

"So, besides being super boring, how's work?" He asked between bites.

"Pretty good. I just wish I could do more, though."

He sighed. "I know, but you're so new. No one can trust you yet. Fury just wants to keep you at a low profile for now."

"I get it Coulson. And I'm sorry for my outburst last night that was totally uncalled for. You worked really hard to get me that job and I appreciate it."

He smiled. "Well someone woke up on the right side of the bed. Although your hair might say otherwise…"

"Hey!" I laughed. "At least I have hair!"

"Hey, I have a little bit!" He chuckled.

"I know I'm teasing." I smiled. Coulson was a nice guy. Much better than any foster parents I had ever had.

After breakfast Coulson had to leave for work, and I had to get ready for mine. I wasn't too excited for another day stapling papers, but I had to be grateful for what I had. So, with my hair braided and ready for the day, I left for work, and got there five minutes early.

* * *

Hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks, and after three weeks of work I had finally come down with a consistent schedule. I would wake up at 7:00, eat breakfast with Coulson, go to work, eat lunch with Amber, go back to work, eat dinner with Coulson, and go to bed at 9:00 pm on the dot. And, not a single moment in the entire day (unless I washed my hands, which was a mess) did I ever take my gloves off.

My gloves became my second skin. Without them on I became nervous, afraid of what destruction my powers could do. And, when I got nervous, there would always be ice that followed. I couldn't control my powers, and, instead of learning to control them, SHIELD made me conceal them. I couldn't let my powers get in the way of my work. However, a thought crossed my mind of why I couldn't learn to control them, and found no good answer. So, I pushed the thought aside, because I was happy with my life. I was doing things and wasn't getting beat up all the time. But, I always felt that I was capable of more.

Breakfast and dinner with Coulson was enjoyable. He always seemed to have this crazy food for me to try. One day it was sushi, another fried Oreos. Coulson was kind and listened when I talked, and respected me. I had never had that from a guardian before. It was nice, and I recognized that.

Throughout my weeks of stapling papers I became good friends with Amber. She was funny and always seemed to have a smile on her face. Whenever my day at work was boring she seemed to come up with the right thing to cheer me up. We sat in the back of the cafeteria, so we wouldn't get yelled at when Amber laughed so hard milk would come out of her nose. Lunch was my favorite time of day. There was no pressure to do work or act in a certain way. There, I could be myself, and show my annoyances towards SHIELD.

Amber and I always ate the same thing every day. I had to because a cold sandwich was all on the menu I could eat. However, Amber didn't have this problem like me, and yet every day she had a burnt tuna sandwich. Finally, one day I had to ask.

"Okay, Amber." I set my milk down as she began to bite into another charred sandwich. "I'm just curious, but why do you eat the same sandwich every day?"

She shrugged. "I guess I like tuna." She said with a still full mouth.

"No, I mean, why is it always burnt? I'm sure you don't like charred tuna."

She set down her sandwich and swallowed. "Um, it's kinda awkward." I had never heard her sound so nervous, even when she got in trouble for hitting a SHIELD agent in the back of the head with her granola bar.

"Its okay, Amber. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to-"

"No, that's alright. I'd spill eventually. I'm not good at keeping secrets." She took a deep breath. "Well, you see, I'm a lower class SHIELD agent, and I barely made it into the program, so, I'm not supposed to get free lunches here. But, I can't afford to buy one either. So, when the lunch ladies saw that I wasn't eating they gave me what was burnt and no one wanted, which is tuna, so yeah." Her face was bright red.

"Oh, Amber, I'm so sorry. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." She smiled gratefully.

I continued. "But it doesn't seem fair that only high-class agents get food."

"There you go with your whole equality speech again."

"What! I'm just saying. There should be equal food rights in SHIELD."

" _Equal food rights?_ Are you even hearing yourself?"

"Ugh, fine. Too far." I put my hands up in surrender. Amber threw a tater tot above my head.

"Touchdown!"

I rolled my eyes. "That doesn't even work."

"Sure it does!"

We both laughed. This is why lunch is my favorite time of day.

* * *

So the weeks carried on and I had been working in the huge stapling room for about three weeks. Everything was the same. I would receive stacks of papers in a numbered order, and then I would spend all day stapling them in that order until the bell rang for lunch, then I would return to more papers on my desk, and the process would continue. I was so boring, but it was better than sitting in my room doing nothing but counting the dots on the ceiling and figuring out how to work the apple box Coulson gave me.

So the day after Amber told me her secret I strolled into the office and went through my usual routine. Things were the same. The man in front of me squeaked his chair, the woman behind me knocked over her pile of paper clips as usual. I began to staple the papers in front of me. Today it was a handbook of being an agent on the field, part 12. How exciting! (not) As I stapled I counted how many paper clips the woman picked up. 25, 26, 27. The numbers went through my head as the steady sound of staplers rang in my ears.

Then, I heard a sound in the office I had never heard before.

 _Rogue experiment on level negative 5, please evacuate your stations now. I repeat, rogue experiment on level negative five and approaching, please evacuate your stations._

A tremor of fear went through my body. Who was going to stop this thing? This mystery rogue experiment? _Probably one of the avengers I've been hearing so much about_ I thought. But my thoughts were interrupted by the screaming of the people around me. Right, evacuate.

There was a mad rush for the door, people scanning their hands as fast as possible. On the way to the door I tripped over a fallen stapler, leaving me in the back of the line. I sighed, looking at the mob of people in front of me. It would take forever for me to get out. I thought back to the voice that came over the intercom. _It's on level negative 5, I'll be okay_. I thought to myself.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake. It was a small rumble at first, but then things started falling off of desks. Staplers rattled on the ground and papers flew. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat.

The door became a madhouse, people screaming and running through the door, no longer caring about hand signals. I looked down. A crack was starting to split underneath my feet. I tried to warn the people around me, but my voice couldn't be heard above the screaming and the sound of the earth splitting underneath us.

Suddenly, a huge groaning sound came out of nowhere, and a tremor so strong went through the floor I fell to the ground. The floor was splitting beneath me, and I rolled away just before it was big enough to swallow me in. I looked up, and at the far side of the room the ground split open and created a gaping hole in the ground.

To my dread, I saw a long, black, gigantic needle come out of the hole. Then another, and another until eight of them were sticking out of the ground. The needles bent, their razor sharp end piercing the ground. Then, as the needles pushed into the ground a large, gigantic hairy beast came from the hole. Its long brown hairs looked sharp and course. It was round, and was twice as big as a car. The needles were connected to the beast, and it seemed to be its legs.

Then, the beast with its long legs turned around, and I saw its ugly head. It too was round, and had eight bulging eyes, as black as night. Below the eyes were two long fangs that looked as if it could chomp a truck in half. Red-stained saliva dripped from its fangs, and I prayed that it wasn't blood that stained its drool red. The monsters' mouth opened up, and it made a terrible screeching noise that made me cover my ears.

It was a ginormous, man-eating spider.

I was petrified, and couldn't move. There were people screaming all around me, running to the only exit, trampling each other to get away from the monster. Some tripped and fell into the cracks in the ground, which were so deep that it went to the lower floor. I shivered, and hoped they landed safely.

I tried to move and felt a tug on my right leg. I looked behind me to see that a cubicle wall had landed on it. I turned my waist so I could get a better hold on my leg to try and free it. That's when I noticed there was a tear in my glove.

 _Don't panic. Don't panic_. I told myself, and I could feel the ice being stopped inside my glove still. Only a small amount of ice was formed around the edges of the crack. I sighed in relief. They still worked. But, I had bigger problems.

The spider shrieked again, and my eardrums felt like they were going to explode. The spider's massive head turned around, scanning the area. It crawled closer to me and the mob of people. I continued tugging on my leg, but it was no use. I was stuck.

Suddenly, I saw something fly past my face. It bounced off a wall, hit the spider in the eye, making it shriek back in pain, and then returned to who threw it, which caught it with perfect ease.

It was a man dressed in red, white, and blue, and wore a helmet with an A on the front. He was strong, clearly shown by his visible muscles, and stood taller than any other man I had seen. I couldn't believe it. It was him.

It was Captain America.

He threw his shield again, this time hitting the spider in the leg, bending it in an awkward position. Then, he turned around to help people out of the room. He lifted walls off of people with ease, and ushered them out through the doorway, occasionally hitting the spider again with his shield, making it cower back away from the people.

He then came to where I was, and lifted the wall up from my leg, I slid it out from under it, and he said it down. He leaned down on his knee to my level.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded.

"Can you walk?"

"I- I think so." I stuttered.

"Good." He helped me up. "Because you need to get out of here."

Just then the spider slammed one of its legs down and sent a tremor through the floor. A crack appeared underneath me. Captain America pushed me out of the way, and as I went rolling the other direction he fell through the crack.

"No!"

I ran over to the crack, wincing as I felt pain in my foot. I looked down to see Captain America dangling on the edge, his shield below him on the next floor down. I reached down to him, and with my help he pulled himself up.

"Thanks." He said gratefully. He looked back behind him at his shield.

"Well, time for plan B. Get to safety." He said to me, and then ran towards the spider.

 _He's going to fight it?_ He wouldn't make it. The spider was too strong for him. _If only I could help_! That's when it clicked.

 _But I'm not ready. I haven't trained_. I looked down at my gloves, and a layer of ice was on the one that ripped. I looked back up, and saw to my dismay that Captain America was losing the battle. The spider had caught him in a web, and he was struggling to be free. The spider's fangs parted to reveal his bloody mouth. I knew what I had to do.

Running, I took my gloves off and threw them behind me. Immediately I could feel the power surging through my veins. The pain in my foot was gone, and I ran faster and faster with every step. The spider noticed I was coming, and turned away from his current meal to face me. I ran faster, the spider only a few feet away. Then, jumping, I reached for one of its legs, and the moment I grabbed on ice began to form up its entire leg, and crawled up to its body.

The spider shrieked so loud I thought I was going to go deaf. It tried to reach for me, but its head couldn't turn to where I was. It began to shake its leg to try and get me off, but its efforts were useless. I was frozen on.

The ice was covering its whole body, crippling it. It crashed to the floor, sending more cracks down it, right where Captain America was.

"No!"

He couldn't catch himself this time. His eyes went wide as he began to roll down into the crevice. Latching myself free of the spider I put my hands on the floor, coating it with ice and covering all the cracks. Captain America was now half in ice, but alive.

I turned back around to the spider, which was struggling to get back up. I put a hand on its frozen body, and the ice creeped up to its head. Its mouth opened to shriek again, but it was stopped when the ice went into its mouth. The spider thrashed around, trying to turn its head to get to me, but it was frozen in place. With a final movement the spider was still.

I finally could breathe, and I turned around to get Captain America out of the ice and webs. I grabbed an ice shard as I went over to him, and I leaned down to break the ice. He looked confused.

"How did you do that?"

"What? The whole ice thing? That's a long story." I had found a crack in the ice and began to carefully maneuver the shard in it, making the crack bigger.

"I'll have to hear it someday." He looked around. "Never thought I would be in this situation again."

"Huh?"

"In ice."

"Oh." I cringed. "Sorry about that."

"Hey, you saved my life, and all of the other people here. A little ice is nothing to be sorry for."

I finally made the crack big enough, and Captain America could get out. He stood up, and cobwebs were still all over him. I helped him get them all off.

"Thanks." He said, as I pulled one off his back that he was struggling to reach.

"No problem."

He held out his hand. "Steve Rogers."

I returned the handshake. "Ivory Smith." It didn't occur to me until after we shook hands that I didn't freeze his hand off. I didn't know what to think of it. _Am I gaining control?_

"Well, there's a lot of clean up to do." I said, surveying the area. Ice was on all of the walls, as well as most of the floor. Shards hung from the ceiling, and blood was coming from the spider, which looking at it made me want to throw up. "Fury is not going to be pleased."

"No, he is not." Steve was looking over towards the door, and I looked to see Fury was standing there, anger on his face.

"Oh no."

As he walked over, I saw him step over a fallen wall, and I noticed blood. _But the spider was never_ that _far._ I followed the trail with my eyes, and saw that it led to where me and Steve were standing. I looked down.

I had forgotten my foot was hurting, and I hadn't looked down at it to see if it was okay. My shoe had fallen off, and I hadn't even noticed. Cringing, I lifted my foot and saw that tiny shards of ice had gotten lodged into the bottom of my foot; their glassy ends were sticking out, and covered with blood. A deep gash was by my big toe, and ice was formed around it. I gasped in shock, the pain finally hitting me as the adrenaline wore off.

Steve turned towards me, hearing my gasp of pain, and saw my foot. His eyes widened.

"Ivory!"

* * *

 ** _Cliffhanger! But don't worry guys I am going to try my hardest to get the next chapter up ASAP. But in the meantime please write a review I want to know how I'm doing.I won't get upset if you use constructive criticism I want to grow as a writer. So yeah thanks for reading!_**


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